Vending machine



B. ELDREDGE VENDING MACHINE Filed Feb "14 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 5 f INVEZZ'OR.

$ agfi d' A T TORNEYJ.

vnnbme ncximn 2:92 5. INVENTOR.

1905 17/00 f/dredye BY 5mm,

, Vs ATTORNEY4.

I controlled vending machines.

Patented Mar. 26, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,194,893 I j I V VENDING MACHINE Boynton Eldredge, Seattle, Wash.

Application February 14, 1938, Serial No. 190,448

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in coin- Its general object is to simplify the parts used, to provide an especially durable and easily operated unit, and to form a machine which is proof against tampering.

My invention is further aimed toward the provision of a coin control for the vending mecha nism permitting introduction of multiple coins to a receiving chute and. subsequent repetitive ejection of the vendable merchandise by use of the coins successively; toward the provision of a coin-released vending structure using a locking lever which normally. is disposed in a releasing position and which moves into a locking position only upon failure to insert a coin when attempting a vending action, thereby obviating use of the coins weight, an objectionable characteristic of many coin-controlled vending machines, to depress the locking lever into its releasing position; and toward thev provision of numerous other advantages in construction and operation which will appear in the course of the following description and claims.

The invention consists in the novel construction, and in the adaptation and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevational View of a vending machine constructed according to the present invention, the near wall being broken away to obtain a full-line showing of the coincontrol chamber.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section thereof taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section on the line 3-3'of Fig. 2. I

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary transverse vertical section on the line 44 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail longitudinal vertical section taken through the coin-control chamher and indicating the parts in position preparatory to initiating a vending movement of the commodity drawer; and

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 5 excepting that the parts are shown in the slightly advanced locking position assumed upon a fraudulent attempt to vend merchandise.

The machine comprises a casing 8 providing a hopper 9 of any suitable size or shape for the merchandise to be vended, as for example a bulk commodity such as peanuts, the hopper having a discharge opening leading to a measuring pocket l carried by a commodity-vending drawer II which is slidably mounted in a chamber formed by side walls l2 and I3 and by bottom andtop walls I4 and ll: of which the latter is or may be the floor of the hopper. For limiting the travel of the drawer a shaft IE extendstransversely thereof with one or both ends projected through slots I'l provided in the side walls. A spring [8 operates to'returnthe drawer to its closed position, this spring connecting at its forward end with the drawer and at its rear end hooking over'a crank portion 20' formed on a transverse shaft 2%, the shaft being received in open slots 2| provided in the side walls.

Said sidewall I2 is disposed in spaced relation to the exterior wall 8' of the casing and'in the. space therebetween I provide tWo chambers, an inner coin-control chamber into which an end l6 of the shaft H extends and an outer chamber sep arated therefrom by a partition v22. Received in the coin-control chamber is a vertically disposed latching plate 23 which finds a pivotal mounting on said protruding shaft end I6 and is movable thereby longitudinally of the chamber simultaneously with the longitudinal movement of the drawer, the plate having upturned bearing lugs 24, 25 and 2B which ride over the partition 22 and downturned bearing lugs'ZI, 28, 29 and 36 which ride over the wall l2. Through the provision of these lugs the plate lies approximately centrally as regards the coin-control chamber and forms a coin-receiving chest between the plate and the partition, such chest being open at the top and defined at one side by the upturned lug 24, at the opposite side by an expressed finger 3|, and at the bottom by a downwardly inclined shear finger 32. The top opening in the normal retracted position of the drawer lies immediately below a coin chute 33.

Describing said latching plate in more particularity, the same is rocked 'in one direction about its pivotal axis under the influence of a rocker arm formed as an extension of the shaft 20 and is rocked in the opposite direction by a scar spring 34, the-rocker arm tending to depress the front or toe portion 23 of the plate under the influence of the major spring l8 whereas the T opposingly disposed sear spring, a minor spring, acts to elevate this toe portion. The influence of the major spring is applied through the upturned lug and depresses the toe portion of the plate to a position at which the upper edge of a coin introduced to the chest clears the ceiling of the control chamber, a positioning which is obtained by contact of the rear or heel portion 23" of the plate against a rear prolongation of the ceiling.

It is hereby pointed out, in the arrangement of spring l8, that the contractive influence thereof is applied through shaft IE to retract the plate and in opposition thereto through crank 20 to rock the plate in its toe-depressing movement, an arrangement which operates by the lever differential therein obtaining to rock the arm 20" rearwardly upon spring retraction of the drawer and thereby position the arm to the rear of the coin chute as illustrated in Fig. 5 from whence forward rocking movement of the arm positions the arm below the mouth of the chute to prevent discharge of coins therefrom as the drawer is moved forwardly (Fig. 6).

The scar spring 34 is received over the shaft end I6 between plate 23 and the wall l2 and its two ends engage the downturned lug 21 and the underside of the Wall M, such latter end tracking this wall as the drawer moves forward into its vending position. The action of the sear spring, as stated, is to elevate the toe portion of the latching plate and this action is obtained following travel of the plate forwardly into a position at which rocker arm Ell" is brought into contact with a diagonal stop shoulder 22' of the partition 22. This elevating movement, however, is normally opposed by the engagement of a coin against the ceiling of the control chamber, which said ceiling functions as a track along which the upper edge of the coin slides, and is effective only upon an attempt to fraudulently vend the commodity from the hopper without using a coin, whereupon the toe 23, is caused to lodge in a ceiling detent 35. Spaced forwardly from this detent is a second detent 36 which complements the former detent and acts in response to lateral ejection of the coin through an opening 37 to prevent fraudulent vending through the operation of returning the drawer for only a slight distance, namely a return movement which is insuflicient to pass the toe beyond the detent yet sufficient to have the rear edge of the measuring pocket clear the forward edge of the hopper mouth.

Tracing the operation to clarify the same it is seen that any number of coins can be introduced to the chute and that only one of these coins will be used in each successive vending operation. The normal position of the latching plate when fully retracted locates the coin chest immediately below the chute and in this position the rocker arm 20" is moved rearwardly toclear the mouth of the chute while its resistant influence depresses the toe 23. The coin within the coin chest tracks its upper edge against the ceiling of the chamber following movement of the plate forwardly to a point at which the rocker arm rests against the stop shoulder 22, the coin depressing the toe portion of the plate by the engagement of its lower edge against the shear finger 32. As the coin passes the rear 'lip of the opening 3'! the sear spring by its elevation of the shear finger 32 forces the lower edge of the coin laterally through the opening in the manner shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4. In the return movement of the plate the toe 23 rides freely over the detents 35-36 and the plate, upon contact as between the lug 25 and the rocker arm, is depressed into its coin-receiving position.

The structural arrangement and design of the several parts of my advanced coin-control for vending machines is believed clear and while I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment thereof it is my intention that no limitations be read into the hereto annexed claims excepting as the same are necessarily introduced thereto, and that the language as used therein be given a scope in its interpretation commensurate with the degree to which the art is advanced.

What I claim is:

1. Control mechanism for a coin-released vending machine employing a spring-retracted transfer member movable in reciprocatory travel, said mechanism comprising the combination of the spring by which said transfer member is re tracted, a latching plate movable in reciprocatory travel with said transfer member and supported for independent pivotal movement, said latching plate providing a coin chamber, a coin chute located to register with the coin chamber in the retracted position of the plate, means operated by said spring in the retracted position of the latching plate for rocking the latching plate in one direction of its pivotal movement, means by which a coin in the coin chamber maintains the latching plate in its spring-rocked position during forward travel of the latching plate, a spring restrained by the plate-rocking means in the retracted position of the latching plate and, in the,

absence of a coin within the coin chamber, acting in response to forward travel of the latching plate to reel; the plate in the other direction of its pivotal movement, and a catch positioned such as to be engaged by the plate in response to said lastnamed rocking movement of the plate for locking the plate against forward movement.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 wherein the spring-operated means by which the plate is rocked in the first-named pivotal movement comprises a rocking arm engageable with the plate and movable from a normal position interrupting the discharge of coins from the coin chute into a position permitting free delivery of a coin to the coin chamber.

3. Control mechanism for a coin-released vending machine employing a manually-withdrawn and spring-retracted sliding drawer for the commodity to be vended, said mechanism comprising the combination of the spring for retracting the drawer, a latching plate supported for independent pivotal and collective sliding movement with the drawer and formed to provide a coin chamber operating to expose the upper edge of a coin received therein, a coin chute located to register with the coin chamber in the retracted position of the plate, a rocker arm operated by the spring and engaging the plate only in the retracted position thereof to depress the plate about its pivotal axis into a position permitting free admission of the coin from the chute into the coin chamber, a track engaged in the forward travel of the plate by the exposed edge of the introduced coin to maintain the plate in said depressed position, a minor spring restrained by the rocker arm in the retracted position of the plate by reason of the greater influence of said firstnamed spring and, in the absence of a coin within the coin chamber, operating in response to forward travel of the plate to elevate the plate about its pivotal axis, and a catch positioned such as to be engaged by the plate in response to said elevation of the latter for locking the plate against forward movement.

4. Control mechanism for a vending machine formed with a slide chamber defined at one side by a longitudinally-slotted wall, said machine having a shaft extending through said slot into the slidechamber and operatively connected with the vending structure of the machine to obtain reciprocatory movement of the shaft from one to the other extreme of the slot, said mechanism comprising the combination, including the slide chamber, its slotted wall, and the shaft, of a latching plate received in the slide chamber and,

supported by the protruding end of the shaft for sliding movement longitudinally of the slot and pivotal movement about the shaft as an axis, said latching plate being formed to provide a coin-receiving chamber, a coin chute located to register with the coin chamber in one extreme of the plates longitudinal movement, a spring of major spring characteristic and means influenced thereby and engaging the plate to depress the plate about the axis of the supporting shaft in the chute-registering position of the plate, a track engaged in the travel of the plate directively from its chute-registering position, by a coin in the coin chamber to maintain the plate in its spring-depressed position, a spring of minor spring characteristic acting on the plate and efiective in the absence of a coin within the coin chamber and in the travel of the plate direotively' from its chute-registering position to elevate the plate about the supporting shaft as an axis; and a catch positioned suchas to be engaged by the plate in response to said spring-operated elevae tional movement of the plate for locking the plate against movement directively from the chute-registering position thereof beyond a predetermined point short of the full stroke of the mitting free delivery of a coin to the coin chamher, a spring operating in the 'obsence of a coin within the coin chamber to-rock the plate in one direction of its pivotal movement, and a catch,

the first-named catch.

positioned such as to be engaged by said plate only in response to pivotal movement of the latter by the action of said spring, for locking the plate to extreme of its reciprocatory movement, and a rocker arm normally located to interrupt discharge of a coin from the coin chute and movable by engagement with the latchingv plate in said chute-registering extreme of the plates movement into a position permitting free delivery of a coin from the chute into the coin chamber.

'7. In a locking device for a Vending machine, the combination of a coin-released latchingplate pivotally mounted on a longitudinally movable axis and having a coin chamber operating to expose the edge of a coin received therein, a coin chute located to register with the coin chamber in one extreme of its longitudinal movement, a spring influencing the latching plate to rockthe same in one direction of its pivotal movement, a catch operating to engage said plate in response to said spring-influenced pivotal movement to lock the plate against travel from its coin-registering to the opposite extreme of its longitudinal movement, and a track operating, in, the travel of the plate from its coin-registering position to engage the exposed edge of a coin received in the coin chamber for resisting said spring-influenced pivotal movement of the plate.

8. The structure defined in claim 7 whereinmeans are provided to discharge the ooin from the coin chamber following travel of the plat! past the catch but prior to the machines vending action, and a complementary catch arranged to operate following said coin ejection as a means to prevent a second forward movement of the plate upon a partial ,return thereof insuflicient to bring the plate into operative engagement with BOYNTON ELDREDGE.

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